Useful Virtual Tools
Some of these tools are ones that I have used for years, others I really grew to appreciate during the pandemic when teaching solely online, when teaching in a hybrid model, and when teaching with students distanced from me and each other. I also found many useful when simultaneously teaching students in the classroom and online (over Zoom).
I’m fortunate that my school has accounts at many sites and sets them up for us, but all of these sites offer a free option so students could use them at home or with whatever technology is available to them.
Epic: Epic is a digital library for kids. It includes virtual leveled books, audiobooks, “read to me” books, and videos. There is a great nonfiction collection which would really work for students doing research at home. They do have limits on how much time students can spend on their site for free outside of school hours. It proved to be an amazing resource for us this year, especially when we weren’t sure of protocols around letting kids browse the classroom library and the school library was closed (it was actually turned into a classroom so we could be in smaller groups).
Seesaw: It seems to be that many elementary schools were already using Seesaw, and those that weren’t started using it during the pandemic. We were piloting it as an online portfolio tool and used it to share student work with families. However, it worked really well for us during the many different situations we found ourselves in this past school year and students love the interactive elements. We can comment on their posts and send work back if needed. Family members and other students can also comment if the admin (teacher) allows it. We used student to student comments sparingly for big shares or posts on the “class blog” which students used as a social outlet when they were isolated at home. It worked really well for an alternative way to have a publishing party and share our finished writing, but really for so many things.
Google Forms: This seems like an obvious one to include, but the potential for Google Forms (or any online survey tool, this one worked really well for us as our school uses all of the G-suite tools) is endless. We’ve used it to get feedback or reflections from our students, have students show what they learned about a topic they’re researching, get information from families, and have students create quizzes for each other (you could use it as part of a jigsaw activity).
Jamboard: Jamboard was invaluable for us as we taught through the pandemic. It’s a great student engagement tool as you can share the link with students and use the “duplicate slide” tool to create a slide for each student (there is a limit of 20 slides, so you might need to make multiple Jamboards). The post its and the ability to handwrite are so helpful for making slides or having students do work or brainstorm in the moment. Our literacy specialist used the post its to make word part cards and have students work to sort or build words right on Jamboard. We also used it to make slides for Reading and Writing Workshop lessons as you can put a screenshot of a text on there and then mark it up as needed. It’s so fun for students to use as well.
Newsela: Newsela has come up a lot on our blog over the years, and if you aren’t using it, get ready for an amazing tool! It’s a news site with articles at students’ reading levels (and with appropriate content). It’s been so helpful to us over the years. Students hear about what is going on in the world and have questions, so having an article that is accessible and appropriate for them to share can be incredibly helpful. It’s a wonderful Social Studies tool, but we’ve used it in basically every subject.
Toy Theater: We used this site for virtual manipulatives when we were teaching online or when we weren’t able to use actual manipulatives due to COVID protocols. It’s also a great site to send home for students who need more practice. We particularly liked it for teaching fractions, but that’s also a big unit in the 3rd grade, so there are many other applications.
ABCya: Another favorite to send home for students to practice (particularly Math facts, but it could be sight words, contractions, or so many other things). This site works for an ipad or computer center in the classroom (if you have that type of student facing tech) and gives students opportunities for practice that feel more fun to them than most paper based options. It is free, but you need the premium membership which costs money for some features.
Other ideas for games you can play while distanced or online are available here.